Method of making steel rails



June 2, 1925. 1,540,558

w. L. MERRILL METHOD OF MAKING STEEL RAILS FiledJune 14. 1923 Lummuunmn J ,Irjvenbof: Wilbur L..TT1erril I,

His Attorney.

Patented June 2, 1925.

UNITED STATES? 1,540,558 PATENT OFFICE.

WILBUR L. MERRILL. SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK. ASSIGNOR- T0 GENERAL ELEC- .TRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD or MAKING STEEL RAILS.

Application filed June 14,

To all whom it may concern:.

Be it known that I. VVILBUR L. MERRILL, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, ham invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Steel Rails, of which-the following is a. specification.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of elongated steel obiects which 1 shall hereinafter designate as rails.

\Vhen rails for transportation purposes are produced by rolling an ordinary cast in got of steel a relatively large Dortion is cut off from each end of the ingot so as to make surethere are no cavities orpipes remaining in the metal. The great accident hazard of defective rails makes it imperative to-use the utmost care to secure sound metal. My

invention is equally applicable to the production of elongated objects for other purposes.

In accordance with my invention the homogeneity and strength of steel rails is increased by casting centrifugally a ring of steel, preferably having the general contour of the rail for which it is to be rolled, which then is cut open, straightened and worked into desired form and diameter.

Round objects, such as wheels for example, have been cast centrifugally heretofore but as far as I am aware centrifugal casting has not been used heretofore conjointly with a subsequent straightening and Working operation such as rolling.

The accompanying drawing illustrates apparatus suitable for carrying out my invention; Fig. 1 is an external perspective view and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a centrifugal casting machine and Fig. 3 is a vertical section of an apparatus illustrating a modification.

The apparatus which is'shown for illus t-rative purposes only. comprises a baked sand mold 1 contained in a metal frame con'- sisting of two separable members 2, 3 held together by a number of bolts 4:, which are q secured to the lower member 3 by hinges 5 and are held fast by nuts 6. Ring bolts 7 may be provided for handling the contain er and mold as shown in Fig. 2.

i I a The mold member 3 is provided with a base 8 which, rests upon a pedestal 9, ball bearings 1Q or other suitable means being provided to permit rotation. Power is conuna Serial No. 645,448.

veyc-d by a gear wheel 11 engaging with gear teeth 12 upon the exterior surface of the base 8. a

The peripheral mold cavity 13, which 'manganese may be introduced into that portion of the metal which first flows into the mold so as to render the upper wearing surface harder than the other portions of the rail.

lVhen the metal has cooled the mold is opened, the ring-shaped casting is removed, cut open, and rolled hot in the well understood ma-nner. Ordinarily only a few passes are required to straighten the metal and to reduce it to the required diameter and shape.

The described process insures a strong, homogeneous rail without the. wastage where heretofore was inevitable when producing rails from columnar ingots.

It is not a. necessary part of my invention to cast a rail or other elongated object in the approximate final shape. In Fig. 3 I have shown a part sectional view of an apparatus suitable for casting centrifugally successive measured quantities of metal each charge acting as a backing for the succeeding cavity 16, in which is cast first a ring 17.

When this has solidified a second ring 18 is cast against the ring 17 as a mold, this process being repeated with a third ring 19 and so on, as many times as desired. The mold then is opened, the multiple ring is cut open and separated into its elements. :This process is shown illustratively as applied to a sand mold but is not limited thereto. The rings thus cast may be rolled or otherwise worked mechanically;

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The process of makin elongated objects which consists in centri ugally casting a rin of metal having the general contour desired in the finished object, o ening and straightening said ring and finishing to desired form.

5 2. The process of making rails which con- 3. The process of making elongated metal pbjccts which consists in centrifugally casting for-the next ring, opening and separate ing said rings and. straightening the component parts.

In witness whereof IQhave hereunto; set my hand this 13th day of June, 1923.

WILBUR L. MERRILL. 

